More Excuses, Same Results

[Guest buickman]

GM: June sales dive spells brutal summer

Bill Vlasic / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Sales at General Motors Corp. dropped sharply in June as the No. 1 U.S. automaker grappled with the long-term impact of its shrinking market share.

GM's top sales executive said Tuesday that he was hopeful that the company's U.S. market share had hit bottom at 22 percent in June, but acknowledged that gains will be hard to come by until next year.

"Is that the bottom? I'm not a clairvoyant, but I certainly hope so," said Mark LaNeve, GM's head of North American sales and marketing.

On the day after announcing the unprecedented buyouts and retirements of 35,000 of its hourly workers, GM broke the bad news that its U.S. vehicle sales fell more than 30 percent in June compared with last year's results.

LaNeve said that year-to-year comparisons for June and July "are going to be brutal" because of last summer's heavy incentive levels.

Although record sales in June 2005 were pumped up by employee-discount deals, Wall Street reacted harshly to the steep decline this month. GM shares closed at $25.90, down $1.85 or 6.7 percent, in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. It was their biggest one-day drop since Oct. 27, 2005.

Industry skeptical of GM

The same industry analysts who applauded GM's blue-collar cutbacks issued dire warnings about the company's turnaround prospects if its sales continue to slide.

"The bottom line is, cost savings are not enough to overcome market share loss," said Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank.

Standard & Poor's, the influential ratings agency, said market-share concerns were a prime reason why GM remains on "credit watch with negative implications."

"Market-share losses, and the need to execute on the other cost-based aspects of the (turnaround) plan such as plant closings, remain a concern," said S&P analyst Robert Schulz.

Paul Ballew, GM's chief market analyst, said Tuesday that the automaker's share of the retail U.S. vehicle market in June was down from about a 23.5-percent share at the beginning of the year and 32.4 percent in June of last year.

Sales for the month suffered by comparison to the blowout numbers recorded in June 2005, when GM introduced employee-pricing discounts that took the market by storm.

"We'll be down significantly (this June) since a year ago 30 percent in all likelihood," Ballew said. "But it's not unexpected. It's where we thought we would be."

To cope with lower sales, GM took 1 million vehicle units out of production last year, and expects to cut another 1 million this year. That leaves the automaker with an annual "running rate" of 3 million retail vehicle sales in the United States, LaNeve said.

"If you look over the six-month trend line, it's been pretty stable," LaNeve said in a conference call with reporters and analysts. "Do I want it to be higher? Absolutely, but I want to do it the right way."

Increasing sales the "right way," he said, is to bring out high-quality products that sell on their merits rather than on a rising level of rebates, discounts and incentives.

LaNeve said GM will be "aggressive" in its marketing effort, but the company will not follow competitors who reinstitute employee-discount pricing.

"We are not planning on reviving employee pricing," he said. "I personally don't think it's going to work as well as last year."

Taking a new approach

Instead, GM will kick off a special "72-hour sale" on Thursday that features "zero-percent" financing for up to 72 months on new 2006 models from the company's Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and GMC divisions.

The sale -- held over six 12-hour days through July 5 -- is a traditional summer promotion rather than a declaration of a deep discounting war. "We don't really want to go to market that way anymore," LaNeve said.

Ballew said that overall U.S. vehicle sales will be down in June, with the industry running at a "seasonally adjusted" annual sales rate of about 17 million vehicles.

John Murphy of Merrill Lynch said consumer demand took "an early vacation" in June, and predicted that overall vehicle sales would be down 12 percent for the month.

Murphy predicted that GM's June sales would fall 36 percent from a year earlier, with Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit both reporting declines of about 6 percent. He said Asian brands are expected to be up, with Toyota Motor Corp. leading the pack with an expected 10-percent gain.

At GM, LaNeve said the overall corporate turnaround plan is based on stabilizing market share, then capturing new customers with upcoming products such as Saturn Aura sedan, the GMC Acadia SUV, and a new design of its top-selling vehicle, the Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickup.

"Our (market) share is not going to change until we get a real strong lift from new product, and we really won't get that until 2007," he said.

Higher gas prices continue to impact sales of pickups and SUVs, according to Ballew. Consumers are continuing to shift from trucks into passenger cars, with trucks accounting for 51 percent of the market this year compared to 54 percent in the comparable period of 2005.

GM, however, has bucked the trend somewhat by selling more option-laden, big SUVs such as the Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade. Sales of those high-sticker vehicles have helped GM improve its average vehicle transaction price to $26,000 this year.

You can reach Bill Vlasic at (313) 222-2152 or [email protected].

___________________________________________

Makes you wonder what they will say when it drops below 20%. Once the actual BK filing happens, how many of you will still believe in "Red Ink Rick"?

Buickman

Edited June 28, 2006 by buickman

[Matt276]

To GM: Build cars people want to buy.

[aaaantoine]

It becomes increasingly difficult to build the cars people want to buy when you are hemmorraging the money you need in order to build those cars.

[Mr.Krinkle]

this is pointless, but here goes.

still spinning and only barking out half of the story.

as the big boys try to make a serious effort to fundamentally change the way business is being run you refuse to see it any other way than your own delusional smoke and mirrors act .

do you really believe wearing a sandwich board sign on a street corner offering a 50 bucks and a free ride in a corvette all while at the same time cutting traditional sources of revenue is going to get more customers back into the dealerships and solve the problems that are on such a grand scale you cant even see them?

its not personal, your plan is just not that good and you wont address anyone as to why it is. you just contiue to attack like a scalded puppy.

[evok]

___________________________________________

Makes you wonder what they will say when it drops below 20%. Once the actual BK filing happens, how many of you will still believe in "Red Ink Rick"?

Buickman

How does anyone compare June 05 to June 06 without the qualifier:

June 05 sales were up over 40% (46.9%) compared to the same period the prior year.

And that is not an excuse but a FACT.

BW you are full of crap and spin again.

Edited June 28, 2006 by evok

[Guest buickman]

The proof is in the pudding....TWENTY TWO PERCENT SHARE. I don't see Toyota crying about the economy, the weather, fuel prices, or last years efforts. Fact is GM is on a downer caused by the lack of leadership and complete ineptitude at VSSM.

Buickman

Edited June 28, 2006 by buickman

[evok]

The proof is in the pudding....TWENTY TWO PERCENT SHARE. I don't see Toyota crying about the economy, the weather, fuel prices, or last years efforts. Fact is GM is on a downer caused by the lack of leadership and complete ineptitude at VSSM.

Buickman

Do the math BM. GM as a manufacturer needs to control their variable cost. That is based upon volume not market share!

[Guest buickman]

Think about the fact that everything GM has tried hasn't worked, share and sales continue to tank. As the leading salesman for Buick in the US six times, I again state that Return to Greatness is the answer. Oh ye of little faith!

Buickman

[evok]

Think about the fact that everything GM has tried hasn't worked, share and sales continue to tank. As the leading salesman for Buick in the US six times, I again state that Return to Greatness is the answer. Oh ye of little faith!

Buickman

It is the product "Stupid".

Get your head out of your ass already and learn a thing or two about the industry.

And BTW Shooting Fish in a Barrel is not fishing.

[Guest buickman]

Your attitude sir is exactly why GM continues the downward spiral, a refusla to listen or even try. For your information, I have successfully advised dealers around the country.

Buickman

[Mr.Krinkle]

I again state that Return to Greatness is the answer. Oh ye of little faith!

Buickman

[Matthew 7:26] "A foolish man who who built his house on sand.''

now before we all go run to get our bibles, just think about that for a second.

is the plan the sand? or is the plan the house.

maybe the foolish man is gm.

this is a load of the stinkiest h*rsesh*t thats ever wafted, its no wonder they told you to take your plan and leave.

June 05 sales were up over 40% (46.9%) compared to the same period the prior year.

And that is not an excuse but a FACT.

BW you are full of crap and spin again.

thats the other half.

Edited June 28, 2006 by Mr.Krinkle

[evok]

Your attitude sir is exactly why GM continues the downward spiral, a refusla to listen or even try. For your information, I have successfully advised dealers around the country.

Buickman

You have been shown countless times by myself and other people that know a hell of a lot more about this business than you, why your plan is childish and therefore will not do anything to help the systemic problems the industry or in this case GM faces.

I think it is about time you shut up and grow up and actually listen for a change.

[Camino LS6]

GM: June sales dive spells brutal summer

Bill Vlasic / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Sales at General Motors Corp. dropped sharply in June as the No. 1 U.S. automaker grappled with the long-term impact of its shrinking market share.

GM's top sales executive said Tuesday that he was hopeful that the company's U.S. market share had hit bottom at 22 percent in June, but acknowledged that gains will be hard to come by until next year.

"Is that the bottom? I'm not a clairvoyant, but I certainly hope so," said Mark LaNeve, GM's head of North American sales and marketing.

On the day after announcing the unprecedented buyouts and retirements of 35,000 of its hourly workers, GM broke the bad news that its U.S. vehicle sales fell more than 30 percent in June compared with last year's results.

LaNeve said that year-to-year comparisons for June and July "are going to be brutal" because of last summer's heavy incentive levels.

Although record sales in June 2005 were pumped up by employee-discount deals, Wall Street reacted harshly to the steep decline this month. GM shares closed at $25.90, down $1.85 or 6.7 percent, in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. It was their biggest one-day drop since Oct. 27, 2005.

Industry skeptical of GM

The same industry analysts who applauded GM's blue-collar cutbacks issued dire warnings about the company's turnaround prospects if its sales continue to slide.

"The bottom line is, cost savings are not enough to overcome market share loss," said Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank.

Standard & Poor's, the influential ratings agency, said market-share concerns were a prime reason why GM remains on "credit watch with negative implications."

"Market-share losses, and the need to execute on the other cost-based aspects of the (turnaround) plan such as plant closings, remain a concern," said S&P analyst Robert Schulz.

Paul Ballew, GM's chief market analyst, said Tuesday that the automaker's share of the retail U.S. vehicle market in June was down from about a 23.5-percent share at the beginning of the year and 32.4 percent in June of last year.

Sales for the month suffered by comparison to the blowout numbers recorded in June 2005, when GM introduced employee-pricing discounts that took the market by storm.

"We'll be down significantly (this June) since a year ago 30 percent in all likelihood," Ballew said. "But it's not unexpected. It's where we thought we would be."

To cope with lower sales, GM took 1 million vehicle units out of production last year, and expects to cut another 1 million this year. That leaves the automaker with an annual "running rate" of 3 million retail vehicle sales in the United States, LaNeve said.

"If you look over the six-month trend line, it's been pretty stable," LaNeve said in a conference call with reporters and analysts. "Do I want it to be higher? Absolutely, but I want to do it the right way."

Increasing sales the "right way," he said, is to bring out high-quality products that sell on their merits rather than on a rising level of rebates, discounts and incentives.

LaNeve said GM will be "aggressive" in its marketing effort, but the company will not follow competitors who reinstitute employee-discount pricing.

"We are not planning on reviving employee pricing," he said. "I personally don't think it's going to work as well as last year."

Taking a new approach

Instead, GM will kick off a special "72-hour sale" on Thursday that features "zero-percent" financing for up to 72 months on new 2006 models from the company's Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and GMC divisions.

The sale -- held over six 12-hour days through July 5 -- is a traditional summer promotion rather than a declaration of a deep discounting war. "We don't really want to go to market that way anymore," LaNeve said.

Ballew said that overall U.S. vehicle sales will be down in June, with the industry running at a "seasonally adjusted" annual sales rate of about 17 million vehicles.

John Murphy of Merrill Lynch said consumer demand took "an early vacation" in June, and predicted that overall vehicle sales would be down 12 percent for the month.

Murphy predicted that GM's June sales would fall 36 percent from a year earlier, with Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit both reporting declines of about 6 percent. He said Asian brands are expected to be up, with Toyota Motor Corp. leading the pack with an expected 10-percent gain.

At GM, LaNeve said the overall corporate turnaround plan is based on stabilizing market share, then capturing new customers with upcoming products such as Saturn Aura sedan, the GMC Acadia SUV, and a new design of its top-selling vehicle, the Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickup.

"Our (market) share is not going to change until we get a real strong lift from new product, and we really won't get that until 2007," he said.

Higher gas prices continue to impact sales of pickups and SUVs, according to Ballew. Consumers are continuing to shift from trucks into passenger cars, with trucks accounting for 51 percent of the market this year compared to 54 percent in the comparable period of 2005.

GM, however, has bucked the trend somewhat by selling more option-laden, big SUVs such as the Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade. Sales of those high-sticker vehicles have helped GM improve its average vehicle transaction price to $26,000 this year.

You can reach Bill Vlasic at (313) 222-2152 or [email protected].

___________________________________________

Makes you wonder what they will say when it drops below 20%. Once the actual BK filing happens, how many of you will still believe in "Red Ink Rick"?

Buickman

Ahem:

GM, however, has bucked the trend somewhat by selling more option-laden, big SUVs such as the Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade. Sales of those high-sticker vehicles have helped GM improve its average vehicle transaction price to $26,000 this year.

Profit> share

[BigPontiac]

Think about the fact that everything GM has tried hasn't worked, share and sales continue to tank. As the leading salesman for Buick in the US six times, I again state that Return to Greatness is the answer. Oh ye of little faith!

Buickman

Out of curiosity, what years were the 6 times? I am curious what the product looked like at the time to add some context.

Edited June 28, 2006 by BigPontiac

[Guest buickman]

First time 1990, last 1996. Then left to start Real Estate company, now broker and auto consultant. Pit stop at Williamson 2-02, renamed Patsy Lou, feminized store, took from 70 per mo to 160 8-02, left again.

Buickman

[BigPontiac]

First time 1990, last 1996. Then left to start Real Estate company, now broker and auto consultant. Pit stop at Williamson 2-02, renamed Patsy Lou, feminized store, took from 70 per mo to 160 8-02, left again.

Buickman

So you were "undefeated" so to speak in top Buick sales in the U.S. for 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996?

[Guest buickman]

Didn't win every year, forgot which one finished second. Can look it up, have letters of accomplishment from Buick. It's true it was a different time then, we had a full line up and Flint was fairly prosperous. I feel sorry for anyone starting off young today. It would take a tremendous effort to again retail that many units (970 my last year). Granted being in GM's home town was an advantage, but the local competition was brutal, many established old time pros were still in the business.

Buickman

[regfootball]

Think about the fact that everything GM has tried hasn't worked, share and sales continue to tank. As the leading salesman for Buick in the US six times, I again state that Return to Greatness is the answer. Oh ye of little faith!

Buickman

THE ANSWER IS FOR BUICK OR GM TO BUILD A CAR THAT SOMEONE WITH BIG COIN WILL BUY OVER AN ACURA TL, RL, MAXIMA, M35/M45, S60, S80, A4, A6, 3 SERIES, 5 SERIES, C CLASS, E CLASS G35, IS, GS, LS

FOR GM TO BUILD A SEDAN THAT WILL TAKE DOWN THE CAMRY, ALTIMA, ACCORD.

A MINIVAN THAT WILL OUTSELL THE ODYSSEY, SIENNA, CARAVANS

NEED I GO ON?

Edited June 28, 2006 by regfootball

[SoCalCTS]

To GM: Build cars people want to buy.

GM has the top percentage of cars sold so I think they are building cars that people want to buy. Sure they can build better cars but maybe they need to do a few rebadge jobs on thier best cars in the mean time.

[evok]

Didn't win every year, forgot which one finished second. Can look it up, have letters of accomplishment from Buick. It's true it was a different time then, we had a full line up and Flint was fairly prosperous. I feel sorry for anyone starting off young today. It would take a tremendous effort to again retail that many units (970 my last year). Granted being in GM's home town was an advantage, but the local competition was brutal, many established old time pros were still in the business.

Buickman

The GMS fixed price of your customers did not hurt either.

[Guest buickman]

The GMS fixed price of your customers did not hurt either.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually back then it was Option 1 and Option 2. The customer negotiated their best deal and got 5 % extra, orders were at a set discount as you may remember. It really was a competitive environment with 6 local Buick dealers and hundreds of salesmen. To rise to the top took a focus on customer service during and after the sale, a willingness to work long hours, and a consistent understanding of customer relations. In some ways, the GM client base in Genesee County was knowledgeable and demanding, not all the business was easy order taking. However, like most everyone, outstanding service would bring high levels of repeat and referral business. I learned my trade in upstate NY where the auto biz was not in any way all GM. Ford was fairly dominant and even AMC back then earned a fair slice. The imports hadn't caught on but the field wasn't just GM either.

Buickman

[ellives]

Actually you are very wrong in this statement. GM's problem is anything BUT variable cost. It's fixed cost that is killing them. This is why the big focus on market share. If they were selling product to the point where their factories were not at 85% they'd be making money big time. The problem is their factories are underutilized so the fixed costs are eating them alive.

Do the math BM.  GM as a manufacturer needs to control their variable cost.  That is based upon volume not market share!

[The O.C.]

The GMS fixed price of your customers did not hurt either.

Yeah.....and I wonder how many of his Buick customers in Flint were cross-shopping their purchase with Toyota, Honda, Lexus, BMW, Acura, Kia, Hyundai, Mazda, M-Benz, Audi, or even Ford and Chrysler???

[evok]

Yeah.....and I wonder how many of his Buick customers in Flint were cross-shopping their purchase with Toyota, Honda, Lexus, BMW, Acura, Kia, Hyundai, Mazda, M-Benz, Audi, or even Ford and Chrysler???

So you remember any Toyota, Honda etc dealers in the Flint area.

MB/BMW and Honda all the way out in Grand Blanc. I think there is a Toyota right around the corner but nothing in Flint proper or relatively close.

It just is not the same market.

Can I get a gooooooo GMS?

[Satty]

I'm sure there is a Ford dealership there too.

[Sixty8panther]

To GM: Build cars people want to buy.

They're working on it.

The Zetas have a lot of promisse. If Buick & Pontiac get two models each, Cadillac gets a BIG zeta if not two and Chevrolet gets three (incl. the Camaro) then it will

be quite an exiting next few years. Oter than that, I'm going to sound like a broken

record here, build the damn SIXTEEN already, it will show the world that GM is

alive and well and that if they really set their minds to it they can kick Toyota &

Honda's teeth down their respective throats.

Granted it will take a couple decades but the first few crucial steps have already

been implemented. RWD is the key to a lot of things, quality and trimming down these bean-counter B.S. products like the G5 & BLS will help.

ONe of the most beautiful things I can imagine in this world would be a lineup of

Zetas in the USA portfolio about as large in sales & popularity as the LX cars

have proven for Chrysler, if not bigger.

[CARBIZ]

I am not sure about Flint, but I know up here GM employees are the HARDEST people to sell. I run when I hear a GM employee coming. They whine and bitch about everything and they shop COST. They claim the dealers are all a**holes, but I wonder which came first: the chicken or the egg?

I even had one who bought a Venture at cost on a program of no payments for a year (GM did that 3 or 4 years ago at Christmas) and then he expected to sell the vehicle back to us 10 months later and not lose anything!!!

Yikes. If Buickman can sell a few hundred GM employees a year, my hat is off to him.

[jry]

First time 1990, last 1996. Then left to start Real Estate company, now broker and auto consultant. Pit stop at Williamson 2-02, renamed Patsy Lou, feminized store, took from 70 per mo to 160 8-02, left again.

Buickman

so, we all agree you can sell. what makes you think that a salesman can make a good businessman or turnaround artist?

the general did start to post profits and i believe will continue. the only downer is that they had to let go another 30,000 plus customers.

[fbodfather]

The proof is in the pudding....TWENTY TWO PERCENT SHARE. I don't see Toyota crying about the economy, the weather, fuel prices, or last years efforts. Fact is GM is on a downer caused by the lack of leadership and complete ineptitude at VSSM.

Buickman

this in and of itself tells me you don't have an understanding of the automobile manufacturing business -- nor do you evidently understand that there is NOT a level playing field.

Oh.......and by the way....you may have advised dealers -- but you aren't a dealer...............hmmmmm..............

[91z4me]

6 years during the early 90s when Buick had regal coupes, a convertible, and lets see, Centruy, Regal, LeSabre, Park Ave, 4 different sedans! The argument over GMS sales and your location has been beaten to DEATH as has your lack of knowledge of the whole other side of the industry, BUILDING cars and their associated costs.

So GM is down to 22% heck Toyota, which gets a pass on almost every review, has right at 17%. They still have the lead AND they are reducing overhead and legacy costs, which will make them more profitable. And Profitability is what matters! Market share doesn't matter if you aren't making money!

Why do you not freakin' understand this?!

[jry]

So you remember any Toyota, Honda etc dealers in the Flint area.

MB/BMW and Honda all the way out in Grand Blanc.  I think there is a Toyota right around the corner but nothing in Flint proper or relatively close.

It just is not the same market.

Can I get a gooooooo GMS?

i have an office in G.B. township. G.B. is everybit a part of flint. someone who shops at patsy lou will run to one of the al serra rice lots or mercedes benz/ bimmer store, lickety split, or the korean/lincoln store off of lennon rd. or shop patsy against the randy wise dealership in fenton. we'll drive for a deal. i just bought my sts from suburban in ann arbor. the H3 came from al in G.B.

[Guest buickman]

6 years during the early 90s when Buick had regal coupes, a convertible, and lets see, Centruy, Regal, LeSabre, Park Ave, 4 different sedans!  The argument over GMS sales and your location has been beaten to DEATH as has your lack of knowledge of the whole other side of the industry, BUILDING cars and their associated costs.

So GM is down to 22% heck Toyota, which gets a pass on almost every review, has right at 17%.  They still have the lead AND they are reducing overhead and legacy costs, which will make them more profitable.  And Profitability is what matters!  Market share doesn't matter if you aren't making money!

Why do you not freakin' understand this?!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why don't you "freakin" understand that your way and Wagoner's way and LaNeve's way and John Smith's way and Bill Lovejoy's way hasn't worked and won't work, not in a million years (because your all blind to the truth). GM has suffered needlessly at the hands of incompetent individuals who refuse to listen to someone who does understand retail. Instead, they'd see GM dwindle into obscurity soon after the impending bankruptcy. Look at it this way, what's to lose? Consider if you will for just one moment that perhaps I'm right. Many throughout the industry and across America are behind the efforts at GeneralWatch. I have hundreds of emails in support to prove my claim. Yet Wagoner and his band of inept marketing people will do nothing more than continue in their misguided efforts.

Buickman

Edited July 2, 2006 by buickman

[CaddyXLR-V]

Why don't you "freakin" understand that your way and Wagoner's way and LaNeve's way and John Smith's way and Bill Lovejoy's way hasn't worked and won't work, not in a million years (because your all blind to the truth). GM has suffered needlessly at the hands of incompetent individuals who refuse to listen to someone who does understand retail. Instead, they'd see GM dwindle into obscurity soon after the impending bankruptcy. Look at it this way, what's to lose? Consider if you will for just one moment that perhaps I'm right. Many throughout the industry and across America are behind the efforts at GeneralWatch. I have hundreds of emails in  support to prove my claim. Yet Wagoner and his band of inept marketing people will do nothing more than continue in their misguided efforts.

Buickman

We will do that, as soon as you address the O.C.'s response to your plan. I predict that will be.........never.

[Guest buickman]

We will do that, as soon as you address the O.C.'s response to your plan. I predict that will be.........never.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OC's response is nitpicky and intended to criticize and demean. The first twenty steps are not going to completely correct GM's negative position. They are a series of steps which begin to set the tone for a turnaround. OC simply degrades each individually as incapable of making change. The point is how it begins the process and institutes the image of leadership in the market. No single manuever is going to give instant results. It's the entire process that will make the difference. Once the tone is set, we continue into the next set of planned announcements. Take an honest look at his critique and you will detect the underlying tone of adversity towards a plan and the individual behind it. Therefore his so called analysis is unworthy of detailed response.

Buickman

Edited July 3, 2006 by buickman

[91z4me]

(because your all blind to the truth).

In the land of the blind the man with one eye is king, that does not mean he sees all.

You calling us blind is the biggest over-the-top statement EVER!

GM has suffered needlessly at the hands of incompetent individuals who refuse to listen to someone who does understand retail.

You do know, God I hope you do, that GM is not a retail company. GM is an engineering, design, production, and trasportation company and a Global one at that. To tell the truth they shouldn't ever have to worry about advertising product or running national promotions. Regional dealer bodies and individual dealerships should take care of that but because GM has had contracts with these dealerships for so long they are under the pressure of their past contracts to do this. They should not be the ones running sales and offering rebates the freaking dealers should be the ones doing that!

But they can't look far enough ahead to see past their NOSE! No they get a brand new exciting model, ala GTO and Solstice, that are unique and what do they do they throw down "Market Adjustments" and "Limited Inventory Adjustments" to squeeze every dime they can out of the hot models instead of capitalizing on the increased foot traffic and good press they bring to the Brand as a whole!

Not only do the dealers have the inability to price their models are reasonable levels, like say MSRP, but they also contribute negatively to the perception of GM and its brands with crapola add ons like "$75 Paint protectant", "$150 Carpet protectant", Finder's Fees, and a host of other no good for the customer ways to squeeze more cash from the customer.

Look at it this way, what's to lose?

For one Millions of jobs, a total recession of the country as well as a crash of Ford and Chrysler group. GM going under is ALWAYS possible if extreme measures are taken. Especially when those who don't understand the scale of GM, the various issues faced by a company of its size, and lets not forget the legacy costs. You have been criticized not just by the public at larger but also by professional auto industry anaylsts. Experts who forcast model sales, production rates, and advize investors as to when is the right time to invest in a particular stock. These people understand more about GM than you EVER will because their opinions aren't clouded by past experience at the store level for a long time.

Consider if you will for just one moment that perhaps I'm right.

Ok lets say that your marketing only approach would work. Who would impliment it? Who would foot the bill? What is the best audience to present this to?

Instead of pitching it for the what 3rd year to GM and the board why not try an audience who is more likely to listen and respect you, one which I have repeatedly told you to address, one who could ACTUALLY impliment this plan, and one who wouldn't break the law in doing it: THE REGIONAL OR NATIONAL DEALERSHIP BODIES!!!

NOT GM, not Rick Wagner, not anyone inside or associated with GM corprate. That is who your audience should have been this whole time! You have been trying to snowball people that you can't snowball. You have been trying to tell them how to do their job when it is something you know NOTHING about!

Many throughout the industry and across America are behind the efforts at GeneralWatch. I have hundreds of emails in  support to prove my claim.

And how many thousands are against the plan? How many enthusiest websites have you been booted from? What is their member numbers? How many replies did you get from people who refuted your plan? How many members ignored you because they saw how rediculous your plan was and how well others had taken up the argument and said "I am not even going to waste my time."?

Yet Wagoner and his band of inept marketing people will do nothing more than continue in their misguided efforts.

Maybe you should consider that they have a valid reason for not listening to you. When you talk to a customer about a car and you have presented your arguments about why a car fits their needs and you have said your peace and they don't say yes what is your next step? If you treat them anything like you do GM corprate it likely is a string of crazy poems or personal attacks against their character. That is NOT how you do business. It is NOT how you operate in business. You SHOULD know better than that.

Wagner and his team have cut plants that weren't making profit, cut model lines out that weren't making profit. They have reduced overhead by gettting union concessions that past management would drop their jaw at. They are not only reducing costs but utilizing more company resources, developing new product, and setting the company up to be more profitable. I want you to stop reading this right now and walk out into your showroom. I want you to sit in a Lucerne then should you have a Park Ave or Lesabre close by I want you to walk over to that car and sit in it. Take a close look at the materials. Take a good hard look at all the switches, the HVAC controls, the new radio, steering wheel. Feel the dash and door panels. Push yourself into the seat. In general take time to really, really get to know the car. Something that I know a lot of sales people really don't have the time to do.

Now that you have done that which direction is the one to go? Lower the price and load the new car with value so that customers really feel like they are being taken care of OR continue an old outdated model that while nice is only nice when you get thousands off in rebates? So your dealer doesn't make quite as much off of this new model, and hey maybe you don't sell as many of this new model. BUT you are building something, something that Buick hasn't had for well decades: Customer rapport, customer trust, and your building equity back into the Buick name. Something that has not happened for a really long time.

Jim, I want you to do well, I really honestly do. But the way you are going about things, with malice to Rick and by making stupid poems, is not going to win you ANY respect. If you want respect then you are going to just have to suck it up that they didn't go for your Plan. You need to move on, that ship has sailed it will NEVER be adopted by GM now or in the future. It is kind a like Cuba do we really need to have an embargo against Cuba? Has it done ANY good in the last 40 years? Has Castro been thrown out of power? NO. You will never turn the board to your side it just won't happen based on your conduct and contempt for them over the last few years. You need to just move on and let it go. Serioulsy dude you need to move on.

[jry]

20 steps just to "set the tone"? are you serious.

again, you can sell. if i had a dime for every good salesman that has told me that he can do a better job at running this or that and why "they" don't know what they're doing, etc. every organization has them. kind of like garbage cans and butt holes.